Feb. 8, 2000
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Jermaine Medley scored 17 points and Villanova’s aggressive man-to-man defense forced 26 turnovers as the Wildcats defeated Notre Dame 86-69 Tuesday.
Gary Buchanan added 16 points and Brooks Sales 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (13-8, 4-5 Big East), who registered the highest point total of the season.
Matt Carroll had 17 points and Troy Murphy 14 points and 16 rebounds for Notre Dame (14-10, 5-5). But Murphy, the country’s fourth-leading scorer, who was covered by Sales, had only six points in the second half, all free-throws.
Leading 37-27 at halftime, Villanova went on a 9-2 run at the start of the second half to take a 46-27 edge. After the Irish scored seven straight points, Villanova scored eight unanswered points to take a 54-36 advantage on a steal and slam dunk by Aaron Matthews with 11:36 to go.
Villanova pushed the lead to 67-45 on a jumper by Malik Allen at the 5:52 mark.
A 3-pointer by Bryan Lynch gave the Wildcats a 22-13 advantage midway through the first half, as Notre Dame went six minutes without scoring.
Trailing 34-21, the Irish got four straight points from David Graves before a 3-point shot by Buchanan gave Villanova a 35-27 edge.
Notre Dame is now 0-7 against Villanova since joining the Big East during the 1995-96 season. The Wildcats are the only Big East team that Notre Dame has not defeated.